Volume 1 - Sanskrit Web

J
237 TRANSLATION AND NOTES. BOOK V. -V. II
Translated: Muir, OST. i.2396; Griffith, i. 203 ;
Weber, xviii. 201. — Treated by-
Roth, Ueber den A V., p. 9 also by R. Garbe, Wissenschaftliche Monatsbldtter, Konigsberg,
1879, no. i. — A note in lead-pencil shows that Whitney meant to rewrite his ms.
;
of this hymn.* But the reader may consult the recent detailed comment of Weber. —
Weber assigns vss. 1-3, 6, 8, and 10 b, c, d to Varuna ; and 4, 5, 7, 9, and 10 a to
Atharvan. Varuna has a mind to take back the cow which he gave to Atharvan, but
gives up his intention at the request of Atharvan. Further reference to this legend
seems to be made at vii. 104. i .
draftj
* LPossibly the copy from which this is set is a second
1. How unto the great Asura didst thou speak here ? how, with shining
manliness, unto the yellow {lidri) father .' having
given, O Varuna, a
spotted [cow] as sacrificial fee, thou hast with the mind intended {} cikits)
re-bestowal (.').
The second half-verse is probably meant as what was " spoken." The translation of
d implies Aufrecht's acute emendation (in Muir) of the reading to punarmaghaivdm.
The sense oi punarmagha is very doubtful : Roth " greedy "
;
Muir (Aufrecht) " to take
her back," and " revoking " ;
neither seems to belong properly to the word, which ought
to mean something like
' bountiful in return ' : i.e. Varuna is expected to give back to
Atharvan the cow the latter has presented to him (or another and better one). One
might conjecture in c vdriine ' to Varuna,' and understand cikits as ' impute ' or ' expect.'
Roth regards the verse as spoken by Varuna ; Muir, by Atharvan ; the former is more
acceptable. Ppp. begins katha diva asurdya bravdiiiah hatha, and reads prqnih in c.
LR. takes hdri as wrathful.'J
'
2. Not at pleasure am I a re-bestower; for examination (.') do I drive
home this spotted [cow] ; by what poesy (kdvya) now, O Atharvan, [art]
thou [poet].'
by what that is produced (jdtd) art thou jdidvedas f
The rendering of b implies the necessary and obvious emendation of sd/u cakse
{V .^A.'W . -ksve) \.o saritcdkse, infinitive. Kamena seems taken adverbially, = ^aw^zya,
kamam, kdindt j the god is not to be moved to counter-liberality by the mere desire of his
worshiper, but challenges the latter's claim on him. Jdtavedas, lit. ' having for possession
whatever is produced (or born),' 'all-possessor.' B.P.M. accent dtharvan in c;
one might emend to dlharvd : in virtue of what poetic ' merit art thou Atharvan ? ' The
verse belongs of course to Varuna.
Ppp. reads in b samprcchi and updjet.
3. I verily am profound by poesy ; verily by what is produced I am
jdtdvedas ;
the course which I
not barbarian (ddsd), not Aryan, by his might, damageth {ini)
shall maintain.
Muir ascribes the verse to Atharvan ; Roth, better, to Varuna ; the god asserts that
it is he himself to whom wisdom and possession belong ; his worshiper is comparatively
nothing. Ppp. begins with satvasath and reads mahitvam in c, and /lanisya at the end.
The Prat. (iv. 96) establishes the long I of mimdya as a /a^a-reading. The Anukr.
absurdly calls the verse a-pankli, although it is an evident tristubh, not less regular than
a great proportion of the verses so called. (_The me in c is easier rendered in German
than in English.
4. None else than thou is more poet, nor by wisdom (inedhd) more